


Firefight

by casesandcapitals



Series: The AU AU [5]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 10:25:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4475858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casesandcapitals/pseuds/casesandcapitals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Uh, we got company," Gerard said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Firefight

"Suppose we just haven't found them yet?" Frank whispered.  
Gerard checked to make sure their history teacher was busy writing on the board before leaning over toward Frank.  
"Kobra Kid said I reminded him of someone, what if I reminded him of the me in that universe, but that me was dead?"  
Frank scrunched his nose up.  
"What?" Gerard hissed.  
"I'm just... trying to wrap my head around that sentence."  
"Wrap your head around the fact that we might not exist anywhere else!"  
"Quiet, please," called Mr. Morrison, turning around to fix the back of the classroom with a stern look.  
Frank waited until he turned back around. "Maybe it's like, we can't interact with our other-universe selves, so they just... aren't around when we appear? Maybe Kobra Kid's person-that-you-reminded-him-of just wasn't in the... general vicinity?"  
"...Trying to wrap my head around _that_ sentence," Gerard muttered.  
"We could go back," Frank said, "to either place. We could ask Kobra Kid who you reminded him of or we could ask the mer-Mikey if he has a brother."  
"What if they freak out?"  
"You're just worried about their answers."  
"Of course I am!" Gerard whisper-shouted.  
"Mr. Way," came their history teacher's thick accent. "If I catch you and Mr. Iero talking one more time, it's detention."  
"Sorry, sir," they both intoned.  
Frank passed Gerard a note a few minutes later.  
**Back to the desert? Back to the ocean? Or on to world number 3?**  
It took Gerard a while to decide, but when he did he tossed the note onto Frank's desk, underlining his answer.  
"The desert, it is," Frank grinned.

 

"Okay," Gerard said, staring down at the open desk. The buttons were glowing, all but two, and they desk was humming softly. "Rings?"  
"Check," Frank nodded.  
"Food and water?"  
"Check," Frank said, patting his stomach. "So much water I might puke."  
Gerard grinned. "Time and date?"  
Frank pulled out his phone. "3:59pm, Friday."  
"World one, the desert," Gerard confirmed.  
"Check."  
"Okay, here we-"  
"Wait!"  
"What?" Gerard startled, snatching his hand back.  
"Were you really just about to say 'here we go'?" Frank asked with a disgusted expression.  
"Yeah? What's wrong with that?"  
"You are the worst explorer," Frank explained. "We need better departing words, something epic."  
"Like what?"  
"I dunno! But you can't just be like 'well, here we go, off to an alternate universe,' all ho-hum. That's so boring!" Frank whined.  
Gerard fixed him with a glare.  
"Up, up, and away," he said, and hit the first button.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gerard squinted his eyes against the bright sun, almost coughing from the dry heat.  
"You are the worst!" Frank shouted.  
Gerard looked around to find Frank pouting with his fists on his hips. He couldn't help but laugh.  
"Literally the worst explorer," Frank told him, shaking his head.  
"Come on, Frankie. No one will know if we don't have cool departing words," Gerard chuckled.  
"I will!"  
"Well, you can come up with some and next time you can say them, alright?"  
Frank rolled his eyes. "Fine."  
Gerard looked around and quickly spotted their car, sitting on the dry, packed sand like it was waiting for them. Which, he thought, it probably was.  
"Well, it didn't drop us at the Nest," Frank said, turning to look in all directions. "And I don't think we're at the same spot as last time, I don't see those cliffs."  
Gerard realized he was right; the desert was flat in all directions.  
"Do we just get dropped in a new random spot each time?" he wondered aloud.  
"We still got that map?"  
"Should be in the glove compartment," Gerard answered, tossing Frank the keys from his pocket.  
While Frank went to look, Gerard took a chance to re-familiarize himself with his desert self. His hair was long and bright red, thin and brittle from the dry heat and the dye. His jeans were tight but his shirt was overly loose, gaping around his chest and sides like a black sail. He pulled his blue jacket open a bit and read the yellow lettering on his shirt.  
**Keep Smiling**  
A theme of yellow ran through his whole outfit; the bandana tied under his knee, his gun strapped to his thigh, even the mask that hung around his neck. He thought about Frank's green gun and looked over at him. His vest and belt were green as well.  
"Dude, we're color coordinated," he said.  
"What?" Frank asked, not looking up. He had found the map and was poring over it.  
"I'm yellow, you're green."  
Frank looked down at himself, then up at Gerard. "I've got yellow on, too, loser." He gestured to his shirt sleeves and the patch on his vest.  
"Oh," Gerard said. "Yeah okay, never mind."  
Frank chuckled and looked back to the map.  
"Are you supposed to figure out where we are with that?" Gerard asked, walking over. "Is there a **You Are Here** arrow?"  
"I wish," Frank sighed. "I'm just trying to decide which direction we should go. Last time we got dropped way out here," he ran a finger along the eastern edge of the circle marked Zone 5. "Probably, since we had to drive for a while to get to Bullet's Gas, and that's over here in Zone 4, and then the Nest is right on the inside of that Zone."  
"Okay," Gerard nodded.  
"If we could be sure what zone we were in..."  
"Uh, we got company," Gerard said.  
Off in the distance a growing plume of sand and dust was approaching, wavering in the heat.  
"What should we do?" Frank wondered, folding the map up and tossing it into the car.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, should we flag them down and ask for directions? Or get in the car and leave before they spot us? Or wait 'til they're gone and follow them?"  
"Uh..." Gerard hesitated. "I think we should wait and try to flag them down. I mean, the odds of us finding Kobra Kid on our own again are probably slim, right?"  
"Yeah, probably."  
"So, we could ask them if they know him?"  
"Sounds good to me," Frank nodded.  
They stepped away from the car and watched the plume of dust until a light green car was revealed at the bottom, racing toward them.  
"I think there's another car behind them," Frank muttered after a moment.  
Gerard squinted through the heat daze until he spotted a slick white car a short distance behind the green one.  
"I'm feeling very outnumbered all of a sudden," Gerard said.  
"Get your gun out," Frank told him, pulling his own acid green gun from its holster. "And put your mask on."  
"Why my mask?" Gerard asked, unbuckling the gun from his thigh and wrapping his hand around the grip.  
"Why would you have a mask unless you're supposed to wear it?" Frank said, eyes never leaving the approaching cars.  
Gerard pulled the yellow mask up from his neck and situated it over his eyes and nose. "What about you?"  
Frank glanced down at himself and quickly pulled the blue bandana around his neck up to cover the bottom half of his face.  
"It's got a little red smiley face on it," Gerard grinned.  
"Focus, Gee."  
The cars were much closer now, close enough that they could see a brightly colored figure leaning out of the passenger seat of the green car. The figure waved its arm over its head at them.  
A second later the sound of laser blasts reached them.  
"They're shooting at each other!" Gerard yelled. He grabbed Frank by his vest and pulled him around behind the car. A moment later the green car skidded to a halt a dozen feet away and the driver and two passengers all leaned out to shoot at the white car bearing down on them.  
"Get off your asses and help us!" one of them shouted.  
Gerard and Frank peeked over the trunk of their car at the white car, that was now skidding to a stop as well. The hood and doors were decorated with the same black smiley face from the vending machine and canned food. The figures inside, all four of them, were dressed in white and wearing white masks with black hair sprouting out the top. One of them shot right at Gerard and Frank.  
Gerard lifted his gun and started firing back, fearing for his life but also fearing that he might hit one of them. Next to him, Frank was shooting back as well.  
Someone from the green car hit the driver of the white car, and the figure slumped, red blossoming out of its white mask. Gerard hesitated, stunned at the sudden death. A bolt of yellow light blasted over the hood of their car and into the chest of the white-suited passenger.  
Gerard couldn't bring himself to fire his gun again, but Frank still was. A few seconds later the fight was over and everyone in the white car was dead.  
There was ringing silence for a moment.  
"Well you're fucking useless in a fight!" someone yelled.  
Gerard turned to see a man with purple hair and a grey mask stalking over to them, gun still gripped tight. Gerard stood up, lurched a few feet back, then bent over to throw up in the sand.  
When he was done, he spat a few times, then straightened up and looked for Frank, who was staring wide-eyed over his bandana at the white car.  
"Oh, holy shit," said the purple-haired man. "Was that your first firefight?"  
Gerard nodded blankly.  
"Well, hey," he said, sounding much nicer than before. "In that case, you did pretty good!"  
"Why were they shooting at us?" Gerard asked, focusing on the man and his friends, who were piling out of their car. He couldn't bear to look over at the white car.  
"Heck, that's what they do. Won't stop 'til we're dead or they are. How green are you, you don't know anything about 'Dracs?"  
"We've only- We aren't-" Gerard stuttered.  
"You gonna puke again?" the man asked, taking a step backwards.  
"Maybe?"  
"Well don't, it's a waste of stomach contents. Why don't you see to your friend instead?"  
Gerard blinked and looked around through his mask. Frank was still staring at the white car. Gerard walked over and stepped in front of him, blocking his view. Frank's eyes were huge and he wasn't blinking.  
"Frankie," Gerard muttered. He glanced over but the purple-haired man was already back at his car, talking to his own friends. "Frankie, hey. You alright?"  
"What just..." Frank whispered.  
"It's okay, you're okay," Gerard told him, cupping his cheek through the bandana. "Come on, let's go meet our new friends, okay?"  
He grabbed Frank's hand and pulled him away. The purple-haired driver was fiddling with his gun while his two passengers went to inspect the idling white car.  
"Hey," he said, smiling at them through his grey mask. "Shiny shooting, kid."  
Frank didn't say anything, just shook his head.  
"We'll split the haul with you, since you helped us out, yeah?"  
Gerard realized that the other two were scavenging from the white car, picking around the still-bleeding bodies like they weren't even there.  
"Hey," the man said in a softer tone. "They aren't really alive, you know? The Dracs. No free will. I don't think they even feel it when they're hit."  
"You kill lots of them?" Frank asked, sounding winded.  
"Sure, anytime they're trying to kill me or mine."  
"Oh." Frank nodded but still looked vacant. Gerard gripped his hand tighter.  
"Where you guys headed anyway?"  
"Um, we're sort of lost," Gerard said, wondering if they were going to use that line in every universe, then wondering if they would be visiting any universes after this.  
"Well, we're almost to the Paradise Hotel, you wanna tail us?"  
"Sure. Um, thanks."  
He lazily saluted Gerard and turned back to his green car. Gerard pulled Frank back toward theirs.  
"Hey, Red!"  
One of the others sauntered up to him and held out a shabby cardboard box.  
"Your cut," he added.  
Gerard took the box and peered inside. A large battery, two small batteries, two bottles of water, three cans of food, and a white gun.  
"Oh, right. Thanks."  
He gave a half nod then walked away.  
Gerard put the box in the backseat of their car and climbed in, grasping the wheel with shaking hands. Frank carefully sat down next to him.  
"You alright, Frankie?"  
"I'm not sure yet," he muttered.  
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."  
"I kinda just want to sleep."  
"We're heading to a hotel, I think. We can get you a bed, okay?"  
"Okay." Frank reclined his seat but kept his bandana up over his mouth and nose.

The Paradise Hotel was not accurately named, Gerard thought as they parked next to it.  
It was two stories tall and painted a faded peach color. Several windows were busted out and one corner was covered in posters and graffiti. There were people lounging around in the shade being cast by the building, eating and drinking water and reading magazines.  
"Frankie," Gerard muttered, shaking Frank's shoulder. "Hey, we're here."  
Frank blinked a few times and sat up, looking more aware than before. He got out of the car and wandered over to where the purple-haired man and his friends were chatting with some of the people outside. Gerard starting going through the car and locking anything worth taking in the trunk. If these people scavenged off the dead, he was pretty sure they wouldn't have problems taking from the living.  
By the time he made his way over to the group, Frank had already gotten himself into an argument.  
"Watch your fucking mouth," Frank growled.  
"It's a compliment, man!" a guy with dyed blue dreadlocks laughed. "It's like you found the fountain of youth or something!"  
A few of his friends laughed and Gerard nearly rolled his eyes. Of _course_ they were making fun of his height.  
"Hey," he muttered, pressing into the group and touching Frank's arm. "Chill out."  
Frank did the exact opposite and pulled his gun from its side holster. The laugher around them stopped.  
"You gonna shoot me over a joke?" the guy with blue dreadlocks asked.  
"Just killed my first Drac, maybe I'm on a roll," Frank threatened.  
The guy sort of tilted his head and considered Frank, then a grin spilt his face.  
"All right man, I take it back."  
Frank blinked like he hadn't expected that at all, then carefully tucked his gun away. The laughter started up again and blue-dreadlock guy slapped Frank on the shoulder.  
"So you're new to the Zones, huh? You got a name yet?"  
Frank barely hesitated. "Fun Ghoul."  
Gerard had to bite back a laugh because of course Frank had taught him a few curse words in Italian, so he saw the pun right away.  
Apparently Italian didn't exist in this universe, because blue-dreadlock guy and his friends were smiling and nodded, greeting Frank by his new name.  
"How 'bout you, Red? Got a name?"  
Gerard opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shook his head.  
"Well hey, you think on it, lemme know when you come up with something. I'm Acid Bomb, this is my crew," he gestured to the people closest to him. "We're here most days. Come see me if you need something."  
"Thanks," Gerard said. "Uh, actually, we're looking for someone. Kobra Kid."  
A guy off to the edge of the group spoke up then. "You know Kobra?"  
Gerard looked over at him. His hair was nearly to his shoulders, curly and knotted, and he was wearing almost unrelieved black.  
"Yeah, kind of. He helped us when we first got out here," Gerard told him.  
"He saved my damn life not two weeks ago," the curly haired guy responded. "He's actually on his way here to meet me, if you want to stick around."  
"Yeah," Gerard said. He felt Frank sway a little next to him and tightened his grip on his arm. "Can we wait inside?"  
He nodded and led the way to the front door. Gerard nodded at the purple-haired guy before following after, tugging Frank along.  
"I'm Jet Star, by the way," said the curly-haired guy as they navigated a front room filled with things for sale.  
"Nice to meet you," Gerard said.  
Jet Star nodded at the guy behind the counter then led Frank and Gerard through another door and down a hall. The climbed a rickety wooden staircase then walked halfway down another hall before Jet Star produced a key attached to a plastic number and unlocked a door.  
"I got it for the day," he explained.  
Frank immediately walked over to the dusty bed and collapsed onto it, curled up on his side.  
"Thanks," Gerard said, pulling his mask down around his neck, "for letting us crash for a bit. Here." He pulled out a crumpled five carbon note from his pocket and handed it over.  
"That's not necessary," Jet said.  
"I insist."  
Jet grinned at him and took the note, tucking it away. He looked over at Frank and frowned.  
"Is he alright?"  
"Um, I think he's a little shocky," Gerard said, going to sit on the other side of the bed. He reached out and rubbed Frank's shoulder, but he was already asleep. "When he said he just killed his first Drac, he meant he literally _just_."  
Jet whistled low, impressed. "He's holding up pretty good, considering."  
"I hope so," Gerard muttered.  
Jet Star smiled then, watching Gerard's face as he watched Frank.  
"Is he why you ran?"  
"What?" Gerard asked, looking back up at him.  
"I heard rumors that the city was cracking down on things they consider non-traditional. We've been getting a lot of new kids out here, running for reasons they didn't have to worry about before."  
"I'm not sure what-"  
"Don't worry, no one out here will judge you for it," Jet assured him, still smiling faintly. "Free will means you get to love who you love."  
"I don't-"  
Someone knocked on the door at that moment and Jet went to answer it, leaving Gerard confused, staring at Frank's sleeping form.  
"Kobra, hey," Jet said. "Found some friends of yours."  
Gerard looked up to see the lanky, desert version of his kid brother with blond, windswept hair and motorcycle helmet and red gun. His red leather jacket clashed against the black and yellow shirt he wore underneath.  
Kobra blinked at them for a moment, and it was odd to see his face without the smudged glasses he wore in Gerard's universe. Finally he shut the door and came into the room.  
"Was wondering where you disappeared to," he said. He walked over to a bureau and set his helmet down before crossing his arms and leaning against it.  
"Yeah, sorry," Gerard said. "We had to take off."  
Kobra just shrugged. "How'd you end up here?"  
Gerard explained about 'getting lost' and spotting the cars and the resulting firefight. He said they followed the purple-haired guy's crew back to the hotel and met Jet Star when they mentioned Kobra Kid's name.  
"Why were you looking for me?" he asked at the end of the story.  
"I wanted to ask you something," Gerard said, darting a glance at Jet Star.  
"I trust Jet," Kobra said, correctly interpreting the glance. "We're meeting here to talk about being crew, but we can do that after."  
"You don't have a crew?" Gerard asked. He didn't like the idea of Kobra alone in the desert.  
"I do now," he answered easily. "So what'd you wanna ask?"  
It took a moment for Gerard to find the words.  
"When I asked why you helped us, you said I reminded you of someone. I just... wanted to know who I reminded you of."  
Kobra stared at him, hard, for a long moment.  
"Who sent you here?" he finally asked, voice harsh.  
"What? We followed that guy-"  
"I didn't ask how you _got_ here, I asked who _sent you_."  
"I don't know what you-"  
In a flash Kobra has crossed the room and climbed half on top of Gerard, pinning him to the bed. Frank woke up with a shout and scrambled up as Kobra pulled a pocket knife from his jeans and flicked open the blade.  
"What are you doing?" yelled Frank.  
Kobra pulled back the neck of Gerard's shirt and cut him, right above the collarbone.  
"Ow! What the fuck!"  
Kobra drew back and stared at Gerard, breathing heavily. He shook his head.  
"I had to make sure you weren't a 'droid."  
"What?" Gerard demanded, pressing his hand against the bleeding gash. "Like a robot? Why the fuck would I be a robot?"  
"Because you look exactly like my dead brother."


End file.
